Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-05-20
PROCESS OF RAlSlN MAKING.
A Correspondent Presents a California
Fruit Growers Account of the business.

A Correspondent Presents a California
Fruit Growers Account of the Business.
In concluding my description of raisn
producing in California | herewith pre-
sent an account of the process of raisn
making. kindly furnished me by promi-
nent fruit grower of Riverside:
THE sun laved shores of the Mediter-
ranean offer to the vine no finer soil and
climate than the warm plains of Cali
fornia. The abundant water supply
from the snow filed canyons of the
mighty Sierras gives health to the vine
and size to the berries, while the long
summer heat fills the grape with luscious
ness. When the early September DAYS
pour a torrid heat upon the plains the
rich clusters put on a golden tint, the
royal amber of full ripeness. Sun and
water and warmth can do no more: the
vintage time has come. To make sweet
raisins. filled with jelly and of fine
brown color, it is important that the
grapes should show this yellow color.
Picking early. 50 as to he first in the
market, does not mean good raisins The
grapes when thus ripened are carefully
cut from the vine and laid upon small
platforms made of smooth sugar pine.
and raised from the ground by inch
cleats. These platforms are three feet
long and two feet wide. and are capable
of holding from twenty to twenty-five
pounds of green grapes. They are then
placed on the open spaces between the
rows of vines, and left for the action of
the sun and air. In picking the grapes
care should be taken not to handle the
punches SO as to rub off the delicate
bloom
In nine days after picking the grapes
are sufficiently dry on the upper side to
admit of turning over This is done bv
placing an empty platform on filled one
and reversing quickly. If skillfully done
no fruit will be thrown off. In five or
six days after turning the raisins are
sufficiently cured to be removed from
the platforms. This is really the only
delicate part of the whole business re-
quiring much judgment; the more cure
thu better raisins. If the raisins have
part of their juices still liquid uncon-
verified into jelly. so that a drop can be
squeezed out by pressing the raisin be-
tween the thumb and finger, they are
unfit to he put into the sweat box. as
they will eventually mold or sour after
packing. and if too much dried the con-
sumner will never know the deliciousness
of properly cured raisins; therefore a
careful inspection of each tray must be
made and imperfectly dried raisins re-
moved, after which all dust and dirt
must be vigorously famed from the trav.
They are now carefully slipped from the
tray into large boxes called sweat boxes.
which are three feet long. two feet wide
and one foot deep. After layer ICON
slsting of the contents of three or four
platforms has been placed in the box a
large sheet of manila paper is laid upon
them. then another layer of raisins and
paper alternately, until the box is filed.
1.-The boxes are now taken from the
vineyard to some cool building. and al
lowed to stand from two weeks to a
month. The moisture passes into the
stems, making them pliable. and an equi-
librum is established through all tie
raisins in the box. At the end of the
proper curing time the raisins pass into
the hands of the packers. These pack
from the layers on the manila paper into
galvanized iron trays. fitting comfortably
INTO the boxes which 90 to market These
trays have false wooden bottoms and are
all balanced on the scales before packing
All imperfect raisins and superabundant
stems are cut out from the lunches which
are then neatly placed in the trays until
they contain five pounds of fruit. They
are then pressed in lever press The
fancy paper wrapper Is now placed upon
the iron tray, a steel plate put over
that, and all reversed over the box in
which they are to be packed; the slide is
removed. when the compact, five pound
layer, with its paper wrapping. falls into
the box: the paper is folded over, and the
box is ready for its successive LAYERS.
The standard California box holds
four layers, or twenty pounds. When
all the layers are in the box fancy label
is placed upon the top, the cover nailed
on. and the cover stenciled with the own
ers name. This constitutes a box of
table raisins. All small, loose raisins are
packed as cooking raisns' according to
the option of the packer. There seems
to be no good reason why California
should not produce raisins equal to old
Spain, when we learn that the best re-
suits follow the greatest care in details.
We must not forget that Spain has had
centuries of experience which has been
transmitted from generation to genera
ton, while we are novices in the business
with all things to learn. Ben c. Tru-
man in New York Times.
Two Million Gipsi-s in America.